It’s the event that officially kicks off race weekend – the runDisney Health and Fitness Expo! As I mentioned before, I love going to the expo – the excitement, the photo ops, the merch – I love everything except the crowds. Going on opening morning definitely means braving the crowds, but it seems to have become my tradition.
On Thursday morning, my friends and I got up and headed to the bus stop around 8:45. There was no signage up about the race weekend at Pop Century, which was unusual. We asked a Cast Member to make sure we were in the right location (we were), and soon a bus arrived to take us to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Drop-off was a little different than I remembered it being in the past, but I’m guessing that was due to the construction that is going on.
We stopped for the obligatory photo ops before heading into the complex. These signs always get me so excited for the medals that I will be earning!
Once we got closer to the buildings, there were Cast Members directing us to either go to the Field House for packet pickup and challenge shirts, or the Jostens Center for merch and other shirts. Both buildings had long lines, as it was about 30 minutes prior to opening. We had our plan, and we chose the Jostens Center first. The line was long but organized, and since the weather was nice, I didn’t mind standing outside. While waiting, we heard that some of the 10k merchandise had been pulled due to having the word ‘inaugural’ spelled wrong. As you can imagine, lots of jokes ensued.
When it was time to go inside, they slowly allowed the line inside and down the stairs. Most people rushed straight back to the official merchandise. It didn’t seem like they were limiting the number of people inside (at least at opening), and it got crazy very quickly! My friends and I split up – they were on a mission to get wine glasses, and I was after a sweatshirt. The wine glasses went quickly and it was a bit of a mob scene. The Challenge and Half Marathon magnets also went quickly, and we were told by a CM that there were more, but the box had been misplaced. Luckily another CM overheard me telling this to my friend as we were walking to the checkout, and she went back and found some.
After checking out (I’m still impressed by how efficiently they manage to handle the long lines), we made a couple of stops at other vendors. Sparkle Skirts, Raw Threads, and New Balance are always favorites. We also stopped to have a little fun at the Misfit jump rope challenge. I made it onto the leaderboard, at least briefly! Before leaving, we made one final stop where our spectator decorated some signs and Cheer Squad buttons to show her support. This is the first time that I’ve seen the buttons and thought they were pretty cool.
When we walked across to the Field House, packet pickup was quick and painless – the lines were very short. After grabbing my Challenge shirts and taking a few pictures, we quickly made our way back over to the other building (which was still so crowded that we had to wait in line again just to get in) to get the 5k shirts, and then headed back to the bus to return to the resort.
I checked in with friends who attended on other days, and heard that it wasn’t crowded at all on Friday, but a couple of items in the official merch booth were sold out. By Saturday, it was described as a ghost town. Unless you’ve got your heart set on a specific item (which I usually do), you’ll probably have an easier time if you wait and don’t attend on opening morning.
Were you at the Wine & Dine Expo? What was your experience like? We love hearing from you!
